ZBrushCentral

Cut a hole in a simple object?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

OK I know you can, I just can’t seem to. One tutorial had you retopo and delete vertices and points to do this - seems like an insane amount of work to cut a simple hole in something.

Other tutorials refer to using the subtools and clipping to create a new subtool. I just cant seem to do it after fumbling about for hours. Sometimes clipping/show hide mesh (same thing??) seems to get fubar’d and I have to reinitiallize Zbrush and come back in…

Could anyone possibly point to a step by step process to start with a simple object like a cube and punch a round hole in it?

Between remeshing, splitting, deviding for higher res, using subtractive (subtool icon), I am just borking this up and getting frustrated. I’ll try to split off or remesh and it complains there are zero vertices, or not enough groups, or something… I am probably doing something in the wrong order…

Could anyone please post all required steps to create a basic hole in a simple object?

Many thanks

PS I know you can do this in Shadow box, but that’s not the answer for most situations.

#2

just make half the box, mirror and weld it over.

#3

A cube as the top subtool with a cylinder subtool below and with the subtract on then hitting remesh without any axis selected leaves a hole in the newly created cube (now the 3rd subtool).

#4

Thanks but - I just requested the steps for a cube to keep the example simple.

I want to apply the principle to complex tools, perhaps non symmetrical shapes.

How would that be done?

So, back to my original question - can anyone list the steps? (please see above).

Thanks

#5

If you have ZBrush v4 installed i suggest you open the 3 default tools named unionskin (1, 2 and 3) and play with the different possibilities of remeshing bolean versions from the subtools by combining the skinnig modifiers in the subtool menu.

I know it still needs a lil work by devs as they have no tooltip to help you but with a lil trial and error you can see the various results you get every time you remesh a new boolean subtool.

Just remember to deselect any symetry on the remesh button (that is if you dont want any symetry) and to select last the subtool that you want to remain as the others subtools cuts chunks away.

Hope this help you.

Edit–

Well ive done some tests and heres my conclusions:

Yeah, the Skinning mods are in order from left to right:

  • Union: Both subtools coexist in the new remeshed subtool.
  • Substract: The selected subtool will be cut by the subtools with this Skinning mode.
  • Intersection: New subtools will be only the intersected mesh from the subtools with this Skinning mods on. no matter which one you have selected.

Yeah, Remesh can be frustrating as yields poor results on its defaults values, it just a matter of playing with the res and polish sliders till you get a good result.
The bad thing is that you dont have a smooth version of your bolean to project to but you can get a lil nutz with the relolution till you get a smooth result and then remesh the boolean into a much ligther res and project it to the heavy remesh boolean.

Hope that all make sense.

#6

Thanks people. Using the above hints, and playing around a bit, I think I finally have the basics down a little better. Here are notes I took while doing this - perhaps they might help someone else just learning about subtools like me:

  1. Create a long skinny cylinder like so: draw a new cylinder. Tools>Initialize change default x and y to 20, leave z at 100. Tools>Unified Skin: make new skin. Tool>make polymesh3d. Save this as longskinnycylinder.ztl.

  2. New project. Load a standard cube. Tools>Unified Skin: make new skin. Tool>make polymesh3d.

  3. Plugin: Subtool Master: Multiple Append, load the longskinnycylinder.ztl from disk.

  4. In Subtool: Cube should be selected, subtool icon left at additive. Change the subtool for longskinnycylinder to subtractive (2nd icon from left). Reselect the cube.

  5. Hit Remesh All. This creates a 3rd subtool (cube with hole in it). You can now drag this onto the canvas or use in a new project.

You could also load in the UnionSkin tools and do this as suggested above. Note: those tools have already been made into new skins.

#7

Originally posted by aspiring3D:

“Tools>Unified Skin: make new skin”

Just curious as to why you are including this step??

Can you not just Initialize to the size you want then Make Polymesh3D?

#8

Zber. Thank you - your right. That step was not needed!

#9

Your welcome aspiring3D.

Try this workflow and see if you like it better.

1. Draw a cube on the canvas, click Edit button then make it a Polymesh3D.
2. In the Subtool palette, click Append button and select the Cylinder. (will automatically be made a Polymesh3D)
3. Click on the Cylinder in the Subtool palette to make it the active subtool.
4. Go to Deformations submenu and, using the XYZ toggles with the Size slider, size the cylinder to what you want. You can also do the same to move it using the Offset slider.
5. Select the Boolean Subtract (middle) icon on the Cylinder subtool.
6. Select the Cube subtool then click Remesh All button to get a cube with a hole.